Love and Affection

For the song by Nelson, see (Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection. For the song by Donna Lewis, see Now in a Minute. For the Def Leppard song, see Hysteria (Def Leppard album).

"Love and Affection" is a song by Kittitian-English singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading. Her fourth single, and her third for A&M Records, it was her first chart success. It reached number 10 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1976. One of her best-known recordings, it has been described as a "deceptively feisty ballad ... an instant classic."^[1] It appeared on her eponymous third album. The song has twice been used as the title track of compilation albums, for 1999's Love and Affection: The Best of Joan Armatrading and 2003's Love and Affection: Classics 1975–1983.

"Love and Affection"
Single by Joan Armatrading
from the album Joan Armatrading
B-side	"Help Yourself"
Released	October 1976
Recorded	1974/1975
Genre	Folk, Pop
Length	4:28
Label	A&M
Songwriter(s)	Joan Armatrading
Producer(s)	Glyn Johns
Joan Armatrading singles chronology
"Dry Land" (1975) "Love and Affection" (1976) "Down to Zero" (1977)
Music video
"Love and Affection" on YouTube

The male backing vocal, which has been described as a "honeyed baritone", was performed by American actor and singer Clarke Peters.^[2] The alto saxophone was by Gallagher and Lyle session player Jimmy Jewell.

Personnel

Source: ^[3]

• Joan Armatrading – vocals, 6 & 12-string acoustic guitars
• Jerry Donahue – acoustic & electric guitars
• Jimmy Jewell – alto saxophone^[4]
• Dave Markee – bass guitar
• Dave Mattacks – drums
• Leroy Champaign – backing vocals^{[citation needed]}
• Clarke Peters – backing vocals^[5]

Charts

Chart (1976)	Peak position
Ireland (IRMA)^[6]	16
UK Singles (OCC)	10

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)^[7]	Silver	200,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Sinitta version

"Love and Affection"
Single by Sinitta
Released	1990
Genre	Dance-pop
Length	4:11
Label	Fanfare Records
Songwriter(s)	Joan Armatrading
Producer(s)	Barry Andrews
Sinitta singles chronology
"Hitchin' a Ride" (1990) "Love and Affection" (1990) "Shame, Shame, Shame" (1992)
Music video
"Love and Affection" on YouTube

In 1990 American singer Sinitta covered "Love and Affection". It was produced by Barry Anthony Andrews and released as a non-album single. The single peaked at number 62 in the UK.

Critical reception

David Giles from Music Week wrote, "Dance interpretation of the Joan Armatrading classic that works well, if only because it adapts the original rather more cleverly into dancefloor mode than the recent Loving You did. Enormous hit potential here."^[8]

Charts

Chart (1990)	Peak position
UK Singles (OCC)	62

Other cover versions

• Sheena Easton covered "Love and Affection" on her 1984 platinum album A Private Heaven.
• Martha Davis (of the Motels) and Sly Stone perform a duet of the song which appeared on the 1986 soundtrack for Soul Man.
• Melissa Etheridge performed the song in 1996, live on the VH1 channel, with Joan Osborne, Paula Cole, Jewel and a backing band.
• Kate Ceberano recorded a version for her 1996 album Blue Box. It was released as the third single from that album.
• The song was covered by Two Nice Girls in a medley with the Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane" and later by Courtney Pine and Kele Le Roc.
• Daley covered "Love and Affection" (retitled "Love + Affection") for his 2014 album Days & Nights.
• Dutch singer Mathilde Santing covered the song on her album Under a Blue Roof (1994).

References

1. Birch, Helen (4 November 2005). "I prefer birdsong to chatter". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 April 2008.
2. Anthony, Andrew (4 September 2011). "Dominic West and Clarke Peters: 'We love each other's company'". The Observer. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
3. Connolly, Dave. "Joan Armatrading – Joan Armatrading". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
4. Millward, Stephen (1 December 2012). Changing Times: Music and Politics In 1964. Troubador Publishing Ltd. p. 274. ISBN 9781780883441. Retrieved 18 May 2021 – via Google Books.
5. Anthony, Andrew (4 September 2011). "Dominic West and Clarke Peters: 'We love each other's company'". The Observer. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
6. "Search the charts". The Irish Charts.
7. "British single certifications – Joan Armatrading – Love and Affection". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
8. Giles, David (25 August 1990). "Singles" (PDF). Music Week. p. 17. Retrieved 31 October 2020.

External links

• "Love and Affection" lyrics from Joan Armatrading's official website